Monday, 31 May 2010

Its been a few months since we've hit the 80's on this site and with so much good stuff still gathering dust on the shelf its time to share!! Lots of 80's revival stuff on TV at the moment but its all shoulder pads, Magnum PI type cop shows and New Romantic/Synth pop bands so time to inject some soul.

Goodies from Starpoint, Bobby Nunn, a Leprachaun classic and Skyy (known as NY Skyy in the UK) all feature.

Loads more corking stuff still to post from the pair of us so keep visiting!

Monday, 24 May 2010

Only a couple of weeks until the start of the World Cup so heres the 'Mixtape' assault on the Rare Groove/Soul trophy- Soul Niceness 14. Packed full of the usual harder to find soul gems from the 70's 'n' 80's. This one includes a tight alternate take on the Foster Sylvers classic, a rockin' little album cut from Cheryl Lynn, and the Sweet Inspirations do Luther/Greg Diamond plus more rare nuggets. Also old time soulheads from London, like me, should be able to spot the Robbie Vincent Soul Show theme in there- see if it doesn't take you back to the early 80's!

Friday, 21 May 2010

Part four in my efforts to show the soul lover that House music can be SOULFUL!!

Its quite frightening how modern pop/rnb neglects the essentials like melodies in favour of rythmic repetition. The "Boom Boom Pow"'s and artists like Akon and Sean Kingston etc neglecting to write a song over the created rhythm.

Here we have some great grooves from the likes of Osulunde, Louie Vega and Blaze that showcase melody and uplifting soul.

These compilations have been very popular, so I'm hoping that this music is gaining more fans from the discerning soul lover!

Tracklist in comments, and Grizz back with you early next week. I had a sneak peek at som of his selections for a forthcoming "Niceness" and they are MONSTERS!!!

Tuesday, 18 May 2010

As promised some nice laid back old school Soul n Jazz grooves for you now. Packed full of chilled out goodness- including tracks from ol'time jazz diva Blossom Dearie, a mellow nugget from the Brothers Johnson, Lee Fields who featured in the New Funk mixes but in heavy wind down mode here and Maze doing their thing!

Enjoy the chilled vibes 'Soul Lovers' and check back at the weekend for Mr SoulNRnB!

Tuesday, 11 May 2010

After New Funk 1 got such a good reaction some weeks back, its time for volume 2. A collection of modern bands who get their inspiration from the old school with a groove that even my fellow rare 'n' old soul pals had to nod their head to.

A couple of funk veterans- Lee Fields and Spanky Wilson team up with upfront bands to deliver a couple of belters and Aussie band 'The Bamboos' lay down another quality cut in this mix. Enjoy guys, SoulNRnB back at the weekend and I'm with you again next Tuesday on a soulful mellow groove!

Saturday, 8 May 2010

Thats David Frank, one half of way before their time group THE SYSTEM (Together with Mic Murphy whose influence and contribution should not be underestimated).

The keyboardist found work playing in bands around New York, affording him the opportunity to invest in the emerging MIDI music technology. He bought an Oberheim OBXa keyboard synthesizer, sequencer, and drum machine. Oberheim later released a three-piece MIDI (synthesizer, sequencer, and drum machine) combination called "The System".

David got a break when Atlantic Records soul/funk band Kleer enlisted him as their tour keyboardist. The band's road manager, Mic Murphy, asked Frank to play on some sessions he was recording with friends which led to a track called "It's Passion" in which a pre-stardom Madonna was slated to do the vocals, but because of creative differences, she bowed out, Thank the lord! Murphy re-vamped the lyrics and melody and the two went into the studio, recorded the song in one day, and stayed up all night mixing the record. Soon after, Murphy called to tell Frank that the duo had a record deal; in two days, Murphy came up with the name the System, and within three weeks, "It's Passion" was receiving massive radio airplay in New York.

For me, the rest is Soul History. I hadn't heared anything like this before that could remotely be called soulful. David worked soon after with the likes of Chaka Khan (Whose Prince written Eternity features in this mix), Jeff Lorber, Scritti Politti, Angela Bofill and more. To this day, David still produces, but to me, he and Mic will always be The System, and David one of my great producer picks, writer of some of the greatest 2 part synth baselines, and founding father of Electronic R&B!!!